Monday, 5 June 2017

Five countries cut links with Doha

This story was brought to my attention this afternoon.I have read this story twice now and I still cant get over the seriousness of it all.I wonder how QATAR will take all this???

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of destabilising the region.

They say Qatar backs militant groups including so-called Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda, which Qatar has denied.
The Saudi state news agency SPA said Riyadh had closed its borders, severing land, sea and air contact with the tiny peninsula of Qatar.
Qatar called the move "unjustified" with "no basis in fact".
The unprecedented move is being seen as a significant split between powerful Gulf countries, who are also close US allies.

It comes in the context of increased tensions between Gulf countries and their near-neighbour Iran. The Saudi statement accused Qatar of collaborating with Iranian-backed militias.

What has happened?

The diplomatic withdrawal was put into motion by Bahrain then Saudi Arabia early on Monday. Their allies swiftly followed.
SPA cited officials as saying the decision was taken to "protect its national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism".
The three Gulf countries have given Qatari nationals two weeks to leave their territory.
In the latest developments:

The UAE has given Qatari diplomats 48 hours to leave the country. Abu Dhabi accuses Qatar of "supporting, funding and embracing terrorism, extremism and sectarian organisations," state news agency WAM said

The UAE state airline Etihad Airways said it would suspend all flights to and from Qatari capital Doha from 02:45 local time on Tuesday

Bahrain's state news agency said it was cutting its ties because Qatar was "shaking the security and stability of Bahrain and meddling in its affairs"

The Saudi-led Arab coalition fighting Yemen's Houthi rebels also expelled Qatar from its alliance because of Doha's "practices that strengthen terrorism" and its support to groups "including al-Qaeda and Daesh [IS], as well as dealing with the rebel militias", according to SPA.

While the severing of ties with Qatar was sudden, it has not come out of the blue, as tensions have been building over recent years, and particularly in recent weeks.
Two weeks ago, the same four countries blocked Qatari news sites, including Al Jazeera. Controversial comments purportedly by Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani criticising Saudi Arabia appeared on Qatari state media.
The government in Doha dismissed the comments as fake, attributing the report to a "shameful cybercrime".
Qatar says news agency was hacked
More broadly, there are two key factors driving Monday's decision: Qatar's ties to Islamist groups, and the role of Iran, Saudi Arabia's regional rival.
While Qatar has joined the US coalition against IS, the Qatari government has been forced to repeatedly deny accusations from Iraq's Shia leaders that it provided financial support to IS.
However, wealthy individuals in the emirate are believed to have made donations and the government has given money and weapons to hardline Islamist groups in Syria. Qatar is also accused of having links to a group formerly known as the Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliate.
The SPA statement accused Qatar of backing these groups, as well as the widely-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, and that it "promotes the message and schemes of these groups through their media constantly".

ABOUT ME

I have had a passion for commercial aviation ever since I was a child. I have over 300 model aircraft in both plastic and die-cast. We have a designated "plane room" in our house but the model aircraft have made their home in every room of the house. I have a Sony 2001D HF receiver with a power antenna.I also have 4 aircraft scanners; 2 base stations and 2 hand held.My camera is a Canon 750D and I have a 55mm, 250mm and a 500mm lens. I am a self taught photographer and learning new things every day. I live, eat and breathe commercial aviation but having a severe lung disease means I am unable to fore fill my dream of being a pilot.I am working for a wholesaler here in Brisbane as their National Sales Manager with branches in Sydney and Melbourne. So I get to go to both cities every month.

The great thing about the in-laws living on the North Side is when ever we go over to see them I get to do some plane spotting at the airpor...

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